Fabric clamping means



F. w. KAMMERER FABRIC CLAMPING MEANS Oct. 11, 1938.

Filed Aug. 20, 1936 l uAAAAAAAIAFAAQAQ WWW 4 W W g Fm i w 1 f 2 PatentedOct. 11, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 16 Claims.

This invention relates to a clamping means for securing sheet material,or the like, in place. The invention is shown and described herein asadapted for use in combination with the edge of a door, such as aswinging door, to hold a novel form of cushion in place thereon. It mustbe understood that the device of the invention is not confined to use insuch an environment, since it may be used wherever it is desired tosecurely fasten in place the marginal portion of a sheet or web ofmaterial, such as cloth, rubber, paper, sheet metal, or the equivalent.

It is an object of the invention to provide a clamping device comprisingtwo elongated strips or plates, having interengaging' portions adapted,in use, to prevent transverse separation of the parts, and havingclamping jaws spaced there from adapted to grip the material to beclamped.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the description of the two embodiments of the inventionshown in the accompanyingdrawingproceeds.

Referring to the drawing, the invention is shown in combination with theedge-of a swinging door, as a part of anovel edge cushion construction,but, as stated above, the clamping means of the invention is notconfined to "such use.

In the drawing:

Figure'l is an elevation of a swinging door having the device of theinvention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional viewtaken on line 2-2 of Figure 4.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the clamping means shownin Figures 1 and 2, with certain parts broken away to showthe internalconstruction.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 44 of Figure 3.

V Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view, similar to Figure 2, showing'a slight modification, and

Figure 6 is a similar view showing a further modification.

As stated above, the clamping means of the present invention isusefulfor securing a cushion I0 to the edge of a swinging door I I'. Thecushion preferably comprises a body of compressible material l2 securedalong the edge face l3 of the swinging door. The compressible materialpreferably consists of sponge rubber, although any equivalent materialmay be used; Stretched over the compressible material is a flexiblemembrane I4 of any suitable sheet material, such as rubber, rubberizedcloth, or the like. In practice," I prefer to use a laminated fabricconsisting of an inner'textile layer and'an outer'rubber coating. Themarginal portions l 5, I 6 of the sheet material are securely held inthe clamping means of the present invention, as'will now be described.

Along the outer and inner faces of the swinging door, adjacent the freeedge, there is secured an inner plate or strip [1, either in a rabbetedportion H or upon theface l8 of'the'doon'as shown in Figures 2 and 5respectively. The inner plate or' strip may conveniently be made ofcommercial bronze, by'the well known extrusion method. The stripcomprises a flat intermediate portion l9 and a gripping jaw or serratededge 20. The opposite edge has a pair of upstandingj'ribs 2|, 22 formedthereon, forming therebetween, a groove 23. The net body portion of thestrip has a row of elongated apertures 24 formed therein, for purposesto be'described, and, further, an additional rowof apertures 25; Theinner plate I! is secured in the rabbeted portion, or to the outer faceof the door by wood screwsZfi, or the like, extending through theapertures 25.

Each clamping device further comprises an outer clamping plate or strip30 having a pair of longitudinally extending ribs 3|, 32 formed adjacentone margin, and a down-turned jaw or clamping edge 33 at its othermargin. The ribs 32 are complemental to and mate with the ribs 2|, 22and groove 23. The parts are thus positioned in cooperative relation,and transverse relative movement between the plates is restrained.

The outer clamping plate 3|] is provided with apertures 33, spaced aparta distance equal to the spacing of the elongated apertures in the innerplate.

When assembling the parts shown in the combinations illustrated inFigures 2 to 5, the inner plates 1 are securedto the door ll 'by'woodscrews 26 extending through the apertures 25. The cushionl2 is'putinpmc'e and the covering I4 is stretched tightly thereover andinitiallyor temporarily securedinplace by tacks 35 driven through'the sheetmaterial into the material of the door at one end of each of theelongated openings 24, as shown in Figure 3. The outer plates 30 arethen put in place wlth'the inwardly projecting ribs in mating relationtothe ribs and grooves on the inner platesgand with the apertures 33aligned with the apertures 24, at points spaced from the positions ofthe'tacks 35. Wood screws 36 are then screwed home to tightly draw theouter plates down upon the inner plates; with lib? clamping jaws 'firmlyengaging the fabric covering and masking the initial securing tacks 35.The edges of the jaws 33, 20 are preferably serrated to have a firm gripupon the fabric. The fact that the two clamping strips engage oneanother at their rear edges and are spaced apart throughout asubstantial portion of their widths, and grip the fabric at their otheredges, is of considerable importance, since this constructionfacilitates a firm grip on the fabric. In the modification disclosed inFigure 6, the inner member 40 is provided with outwardly projecting ribs4|, 42 which converge toward each other at their outer ends to formtherebetween a re-entrant groove 44. At the opposite edge, the innerplate 40 is provided with a flange 45 having its inner surface serratedas at 46, to grip the covering material l4. The outer clamping strip 41comprises an inwardly projecting rib 48 joined to the body of the stripby a restricted neck, so that when the rib is inserted in the re-entrantgroove by endwise movement, the parts may pivot relative to one another,but may not be taken apart by transverse movement. The outer plate 41 atits edge adjacent the flange 45 is provided with an enlargement or head49 having a serratedouter face 50 adapted to cooperate with theserrations on the flange 45 to clamp the material therebetween. 7

The opposite edge of the plate 41 is provided with a down-turned flange5l,' to conceal the pivotal joint between the plates and to make afinished job. In other respects, the form of the invention shown inFigure6 corresponds to that shown in Figures 2 to 5 inclusive.

Although the foregoing description has referred to certain details ofconstruction of the devices shown in the drawing with considerableparticularity, it must be understood that the invention is not limitedto these details, but covers all sim ilar devices coming within thescope of the accompanying claims, or their equivalents.

I claim:

1. Means for clamping a membrane in place upon a base, comprising a pairof' elongated rigid metal plates, one of said plates having a rib on thesurface thereof facing the other plate, and the other plate beingprovided with a groove facing said rib and being adapted to receive andmate with the same, said plates having cooperating gripping surfacesalong their adjacent margins, spaced from said rib and groove, and meansindependent of said rib and groove and of said gripping surfaces andextending through said plates for drawing said plates together to clampa membrane between said gripping surfaces, said rib and groove servingto prevent relative lateral movement of the plates independently of saidmeans for drawing the plates together.

2. Means for securely clamping a membrane in place, comprising a rigidextruded metal plate having a serrated marginal portion and a groovedportion spaced therefrom, a second rigid extruded metal plate having arib receivable in the groove of the first mentioned plate and a serratedportion adapted to be positioned opposite the serrated portion of thefirst mentioned plate, and fastening means independent of said ribs andgrooves for drawing said plates together to clamp a membrane betweensaid serratedportions.

3. Means for securely'clamping a membrane comprising an elongated rigidmetallic plate having a pair of upstanding longitudinal ribs formingtherebetween a groove, 2. second rigid metallic plate having aribadapted to be received in said groove, whereby transverse relativemovement of said plates is restrained, and screw threaded means spacedfrom said ribs and grooves for drawing said plates together to clamp themembrane therebetween at a point remote from said ribs and grooves.

4. Means for securely clamping a membrane in place comprising anelongated rigid plate provided with a pair of ribs adjacent its rearedge forming therebetween a groove, and, adjacent its forward edge, aserrated gripping portion, and a second rigid plate provided adjacentits rear edge with a pair of ribs adapted to mate with the ribs andgroove of the first mentioned plate, said second mentioned plateadjacent its forward edge being provided with a down-turned marginalportion having serrations formed thereon facing the serrations on thefirst mentioned plate, and means spaced from said ribs and grooves fordrawing said plates together to clamp a membrane between said serratedgripping portions.

5. Means for clamping the edge of a piece of sheet material to a member,comprising a pair of non-flexible elongated metal strips adapted to besecured to said member, said strips having longitudinally formedinterengaging elements cooperating to prevent transverse relativemovement of the strips, and, spaced therefrom, cooperating grippingsurfaces adapted to engage the sheet material placed between the plateswhen the plates are drawn together, and fastening means extendingthrough said plates into said member for positively drawing the platestogether 6. A device in accordance with claim 5 characterized in thatone of said plates is provided with apertures to receive fasteningelements extending from said plate into said member, and withadditionalapertures to receive fastening elements extending from theother plate through the first mentioned plate into said member, wherebythe plates may be drawn together by the second mentioned fasteningelements.-

'7. Means in accordance with claim 5 characterized in that one of saidplates is provided with elongated apertures adapted to receive initialfastening means extending through the sheet material and into saidmember, and other fastening means extending through the other plate,

and said sheet material, and into said member. 1

8. Means .for clamping the edge of a piece of sheet material to amember, comprising an elongated non-flexible metallic strip adapted tobe secured to said member, a complemental elongated rigid clampingstrip, and means for drawing the two together to clamp the sheetmaterial therebetween, said first mentioned strip comprising anupstanding longitudinal rib adjacent one edge and a gripping surfaceadjacent the other edge, said complemental strip comprising a pair ofribs adjacent one edge adapted to mate with the rib on said firstmentioned strip and a down-turned opposite edge forming a jaw and havinga gripping surface thereon, the major portion of said strips beingspaced apart between the mating ribs and the gripping surfaces, wherebythe strips are in mutual engagement along one zone and are in grippingrelation to the material along another zone spaced therefrom, said meansfor drawing the strips together comprising fastening means positionedbetween the mating ribs and grooves and the gripping surfaces andextending into said memher.

9. Means for clamping the edge of a fabric membrane to a membercomprising a pair of rigid extruded metal clamping strips adapted to besecured to said member, said strips being hinged to each other on anelongated pivotal axis, gripping means on said strips spaced from saidaxis, and means for drawing said plates together to bring said grippingmeans into cooperative relation to the fabric by pivoting movement ofone of said strips about said axis.

10. Means for clamping the edge of a piece of sheet material comprisinga lower plate of eX- truded metallic section adapted to be secured to amember, an upper plate of extruded metallic section pivoted to the lowerplate and adapted to cooperate therewith to clamp the materialtherebetween, said pivotal connection comprising a re-entrant groove onone of said plates and an outwardly flaring solid rib on the other platepositioned in said groove, and means spaced laterally from the pivotalconnection for drawing the plates together to clamp the materialtherebetween.

11. Means for clamping the edge of a piece of sheet material, comprisinga pair of elongated strips of extruded metallic sections having theirbody portions disposed in substantially parallel planes, said stripshaving integral elongated projections comprising a loose dove-tail jointinterconnecting the strips for relative pivotal movement, and furtherhaving, spaced from said joint, gripping surfaces disposed substantiallyat right angles to the planes of the body portions, and means spacedfrom the dove-tail joint for drawing the plates together to clamp thematerial therebetween.

12. A construction in accordance with claim 9 characterized in that thehinge connection between said plates comprises a loose dove-tail joint,whereby the plates may be assembled and separated only by relativelongitudinal movement.

13. A cushion construction for the edge face of a swinging doorcomprising a body of cushioning material disposed along said face, asheet fabric covering extending over said material and drawn back towardthe corners of said face, and clamping means for the edges of saidcovering comprising separate inner and outer rigid extruded metal platesadjacent each side face of the door having clamping surfaces andinterengaging elements spaced therefrom to restrain relative transversemovement of the plates, and means for drawing the outer plate toward theinner plate to clamp the fabric between said clamping surfaces.

14. A cushion construction for the edge face of a swinging doorcomprising a body of cushioning material disposed along said face, asheet fabric covering extending over said material and drawn back towardthe corners of said face, and clamping means for the edges of saidcovering comprising separate inner and outer rigid extruded metal platesadjacent each side face of the door having clamping surfaces andinterengaging elements spaced therefrom to restrain relative transversemovement of the plates, temporary fastening means for securing thecovering in place over the inner plate before the outer plate isapplied, and means for thereafter drawing the outer plate toward theinner plate to clamp the fabric permanently between said clampingsurfaces.

15; A cushion construction for the edge face of a swinging doorcomprising a body of cushioning material disposed along said face, asheet fabric covering extending over said material and drawn back towardthe corners of said face, and clamping means for the edges of saidcovering comprising a pair of rigid extruded metal plates on the sidefaces of the door having clamping surfaces and interengaging elementsspaced therefrom to restrain relative transverse movement of the plates,the plate adjacent the side face of the door having openings therein,tacks extending through the covering and through certain of saidopenings into the door to constitute initial fastening means for thecovering, and screws ex,- tending through the other plate, said cover,and certain of said openings in the first mentioned plate to draw theplates together, whereby said clamping surfaces constitute permanentfastening means for said covering.

16. A cushion construction for the edge face of a swinging doorcomprising a body of cushioning material disposed along said face, asheet fabric covering extending over said material and drawn back towardthe corners of said face, and clamping means for the edges of saidcovering comprising inner and outer rigid extruded metal plates adjacentthe side faces of the door having clamping surfaces and interengagingelements spaced therefrom to restrain relative transverse movement ofthe plates, the inner plate having a series of elongated aperturestherein, and another series of apertures, .screws extending through thelast mentioned series to secure the inner plate to the door, tacksextending through the covering and through said elongated apertures andinto the door to constitute initial fastening means for the covering,and screws extending through the outer plate, said covering and saidelongated apertures into the door to clamp the outer plate in place,whereby said clamping surfaces constitute permanent fastening means forsaid covering.

FRED W. KAMMERER.

